


hey, i don’t want you to be the one that got away

by SolariaLunar21



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Anal Sex, Fluff, Harry and Zayn are mentioned, M/M, but they aren't in the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-23
Updated: 2014-04-23
Packaged: 2018-01-20 11:38:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1509080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SolariaLunar21/pseuds/SolariaLunar21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six months after his divorce from Eleanor and a month before he's set to start work on his own late night talk show Louis decides he needs a break from the spotlight. Cue Niall who offers up his company and home in the Irish countryside.</p>
            </blockquote>





	hey, i don’t want you to be the one that got away

**Author's Note:**

> This fandom needs more Nouis so I've graciously decided to provide it. I won't lie...the smut isn't fantastic but I tried my god's honest best. Also this has not been brit-picked so if there are any American'isms blame the fact that I'm American and let me know! And this was only beta'd by myself since my usual beta isn't a One Direction fan so I decided not to subject her to this out of the goodness of my heart! Now onwards to the fic!

Six months after his divorce from Eleanor is finalized Louis finds himself staring at a picture of his ex-wife holding hands with the newest golden boy in football looking utterly and completely smitten; contrasted with a pap shot of himself leaving a Tesco late at night in a ratty pair of joggers looking rundown and exhausted. The headline is less than flattering and he’s sure the article it goes with is full of scathing comments about Louis’ weight and public appearance. The fact that the picture cuts out Zayn, who he was with picking up ice cream for a very pregnant and hormonal Perrie, doesn’t help the fact that it makes him seethe deep on the inside.

He’s had to deal with the public’s perception of him since he was eighteen years old but at thirty-three it still doesn’t make him feel any better about articles like this one. Sighing he clicks off the site and closes his laptop rubbing a hand over his face. The press has been hounding him since the news of his divorce broke right around the same time that it was announced he wouldn’t be back for a fourth series as the host of _The Acoustics_ ; the newest hit singing competition show in the UK. It had died down somewhat after the divorce was finalized but it’s picked right back up now that they’ve announced his late-night talk show aka _The Louis Tomlinson Show_.

He’s been working on the project since before he and Eleanor decided to get divorced and it’s finally come to fruition and is set to start shooting in just over a month. Not to mention the fact that he’s also co-running his own record label with Liam and has been since even before One Direction decided it was time to retire as a band. Which is where he is right now, he’s supposed to be listening to a demo that Harry sent him of a band he saw a few weeks ago in a dingy little pub in New York, but instead he’s procrastinating by looking up the headlines about himself.

“The band that bad?” he looks at the doorway where Liam is leaning and shakes his head while answering,

“No haven’t listened to it yet.”

“Then what’ve you been doing for the past thirty minutes?” he shrugs his shoulders because he knows if he tries to lie Liam will just know anyways. It’s silent between them for a few minutes; Louis figures Liam has a good idea of what he’s been up too anyways. Finally Liam breaks the quiet between them, “you could take a break from everything you know. Take the next month before shooting starts and just go relax somewhere. It’s been a long year Tommo, I don’t blame ya for being a bit rundown and I can always watch over this place.”

“I’ve thought about it but even if the show isn’t shooting for another month there’s still stuff to do.”

“But do you really need to be there in person for any of it? You deserve a break,” Liam states.

“I’ll think about it Payno, not going to make any promises though,” he answers. Liam must realize that Louis doesn’t want to discuss it any further so instead he changes the subject to one of their artists who has been struggling in the studio lately.

Louis takes what Liam says to heart though. He’s been late 2013 levels of exhausted lately which was horrible back then but it’s been twelve years so it’s even worse now. After speaking with his producers he finds out that he’s really only needed in person the last weekend before the first show is set to begin shooting and the rest can be done over Skype or the phone. With that obligation out of the way he has to figure out the best place that he can go to just unwind. Usually he’d go to his mum’s house but as much as he loves his mother, and his youngest siblings who just turned eleven, he doesn’t feel like it’s the right place.

He contemplates finding a small vacation house somewhere remote that will allow him to be out of the public eye but ultimately decides it’s not the right decision either. While he wants a break from the spotlight the isolation of the situation would make him go a bit stir crazy. He’s always been a people person and he knows the solitude of such a place would drive him a bit nuts if he wasn’t able to have someone else around.

It’s not until two days after his talk with Liam that he figures out the perfect place for him to go and shed the stress of the last year. The realization comes when he opens his work e-mail that morning to find one from Niall updating both him and Liam on the progress of one their artists that’s been working at his recording studio the past few weeks. Since One Direction ended Niall’s almost permanently moved back to Ireland where he opened a recording studio, only spending three or four random months out of the year in his London flat. Staying with Niall would be the perfect solution to Louis’ predicament and it has the added benefit of one of his best friends. He decides to wait until he’s gone home for the day to call Niall hoping that he’ll figure out the best way to ask without sounding desperate.

“Long time no talk Tommo!” Niall greets when he picks up the phone.

“We talked three days ago you wanker,” he replies with a smile on his lips at his friends usual dramatics.

“Oi I’ll have no insults to me character like that you twat,” the Irish man replies with a laugh, “anyways what do I owe the pleasure of a call from the likes of you?”

“What I can’t call for no reason just to talk to my good friend Niall?”

“Of course you can but a little birdie told me that you’ve been a right bugger lately ever since they suggested you take some time off.”

“Well that little birdie needs to keep his mouth shut, I’ve been perfectly pleasant.”

“I’m sure you have Lou,” Niall’s replies sarcastically before he continues, “and because I’ve got an Irish sixth sense for these things I’ve already got you a ticket for a flight out of Heathrow to Dublin for Thursday morning.”

“Who says I want to spend my break with the likes of you,” Louis exclaims even while his heart aches in his chest at how well Niall still knows him, how well all of his boys still know him.

“I already told ya my Irish sixth sense!”

“Whatever you say Horan, so Thursday then?”

“Thursday it is! See ya soon Louis!” With that the other line disconnects and Louis spends the rest of his night watching movies on Netflix and feeling just a bit less exhausted.

Two days later he finds himself running around his house like a chicken with its head cut off trying to make sure he hasn’t forgotten anything before he has to leave to head the airport. After he’s sure he’s packed everything he needs he exits his house and makes his way to his car glad that it’s too early for any pap’s to be outside his gates. The drive to the airport doesn’t take long and going through security is a breeze before he settles himself in a seat to wait. The flight is a quick and feels like it’s over in the blink of an eye compared to other’s he’s had to endure in his lifetime and he steps off the plane with a bit bigger of a spring in his step.

He gets stopped a couple of times by people who recognize him, signs a few autographs or takes a picture or two. One woman he even recognizes as a regular from way back in the day who just gives him a soft smile and returns his hug when he offers. Finally he’s able to make his way toward baggage claim where Niall said he would be waiting for him despite the early hour. As he approaches the pick-up area he sees the usual group of men and woman with signs standing to the side and laughs when he sees a familiar face among them. Niall is holding a simple piece of notebook paper above his head with **SKIP TO MY LOU** written in thick sharpie on it. The nickname and Niall’s broad grin when he sees Louis has tension melting from his shoulder’s that he completely forgot was even there.

“You wanker you know I hate that nickname!” he exclaims when he comes close pulling Niall into a hug.

“Ah come off it, it’s the best one we’ve ever given ya and you know it!” Niall says waving the sign around as Louis remembers the events that led to his receiving said nickname.

Doing the inevitable Harry had finally one day broken his arm in quite the spectacular fashion and when given pain meds at the hospital thought it was funny to sing the nursery rhyme Skip To My Lou at Louis whenever he saw him. This then resulted in Niall using the new nickname to both get Harry embarrassed over his drug induced rambling and Louis annoyed.

“A bunch of lies Horan! All of it just slander and lies I say!” he replies hooking his arm around Niall’s shoulders as the latter laughs and they grab Louis’ duffle bag full of clothes from the conveyer belt.

The walk to Niall’s car goes by quickly once they reach the carpark and they both climb in before heading in the direction of where Niall lives. It’s quiet in the car between them, one that’s familiar and allows Louis to settle into himself more and more as time passes by. He hopes that it won’t take long to adjust to living in close quarters with one another again, it’s been so long since they have that he fears he’s forgotten how to live with Niall. Louis probably talks to Niall less than the others but even then they both make a point of calling each other at least twice a week. So he can’t really say they aren’t close anymore, because they still are but it’s been so long since Louis’ had to settle into Niall’s atmosphere like this that he’s nervous he might have forgotten.

“So how’re you doing really?” Niall asks twenty minutes into their drive.

“Just tired, need time away from it all you know?”

“Course I do.”

“Thanks for letting me come by the way,” he replies after a few more minutes of silence.

“You know you’re always welcome Lou, your family ya know?”

“Yeah Nialler I know,” he answers softly with a small smile gracing his lips. It’s not long after that they make the turn that heads towards Niall’s house. Louis always loved the house Niall had built in the year after One Direction split up mainly due to the fact of how isolated it is but also because of how much life Niall’s breathed into it.

It’s two stories but a modest size; good for Niall and the dog he adopted two years ago named Moe, and already has ivy creeping up the walls in some parts. Louis knows there’s a garden out back that Niall spends most of his summers in as well as a deck with a hot tub and grill set up. He’s also aware of the indoor swimming pool that he’s going to take full advantage of despite the fact that it’s still only the first few weeks of April and not exactly swimming weather.

“You remember where your room is right?” Niall asks once they’ve entered and been greeted by Moe.

“Yup, I still know my way around Nialler, just because it’s been almost a year since I last visited you out here doesn’t mean I don’t,” he answers with a smile as he makes his way towards the stairs at the end of the hallway and climbs them towards where the bedroom he’s always claimed for himself (and in the past Eleanor) resides. After dropping his bags off he wanders back down to the kitchen where he can hear Niall moving around different pots and pans while he cooks them a late breakfast.

He stops at random intervals to look at various pictures and plaques that Niall’s hung up on the walls and smiles at each of them. Majority of the photos feature Niall’s vast array of family and friends but Louis can see that there’s also an overwhelming amount of the rest of the boys at various stages since the day they all met. His favorite though is the most recent picture of the five of them from Harry’s birthday just a few months before all gathered in Harry’s backyard and piled on top of each other just like always. He finally makes his way into the kitchen to find Niall at the stove top cooking up eggs and bacon with music playing in the background.

“All settled Tommo?” the Irish man asks once he notices Louis’ presence.

“Yup, see you’ve added more pictures to your walls.”

“Ongoing project that, speaking of did Harry send you that picture of him and Arthur at the beach?”

“Yeah got it the other day, Haz told me right after they took that Arthur tried to take off his bathing suit and swimming nappy.”

“Like father like son then it seems,” Niall quips with a chuckle.

“Never would’ve thought all those years ago that Harry would be a dad before Liam though,” Louis muses as he steals a piece of bacon off the plate Niall’s been placing them on when they’re done.

“Think we all thought Liam would be the first of us to settle down in the beginning.”

“But instead it was Zayn.”

“And Liam’s still a free agent,” Niall chuckles as he plates their food and they move over to the island in the middle of the kitchen to eat.

“A lot of things are different to how we thought it would be back then though,” Louis states a bit sadly.

“Not necessarily in a bad way though.”

“Always the optimist Nialler.”

“One of us has to be,” Niall responds around a mouthful of food as Louis pulls a face at his antics but finds a small part in his belly warming at the action for how after all these years at his base Niall’s still the Irish ball of energy he met when he was eighteen years old. They lapse into silence then as they finish breakfast and then clean up after themselves. The rest of the day is spent lounging around outside since the weather is warm enough and catching each other up on the day to day goings on of their lives.

That’s how the next few days pass between them as they settle back into a routine that is familiar in its inner workings. Louis sets aside a couple of hours each day while Niall is at the recording studio to do some song writing or to come up with new ideas and segments for the show that he wants to run by his producers. Overall though he uses most of the free time to hang around with Niall and becomes reminded of the two weeks they spent living off of Chinese takeout and pizza back in 2016 when Louis and Eleanor were on a break and Niall was his safe space.

“So I sort of just remembered I told Greg I’d watch the kids for him and Denise tomorrow so they can go out a while back, hope you don’t mind,” Niall informs him on the sixth day of their cohabitation.

“Not at all, I haven’t seen the Horan offspring in quite some time, it’ll be fun!” he exclaims thinking about the small Horan brood that were Niall’s nephews and niece.

“Good, Theo will be excited to see ya, think he’s getting tired of his good ol’ Uncle Niall in his old age.”

“How he could be tired of you is a mystery to me,” Louis replies with a smile.

“Cheeky bugger,” Niall mumbles as Louis runs away from what he knows was about to be a pinch attack from the other man.

The next day is spent in the company of the three Horan children once Greg and Denise drop them off shortly before lunch. Theo spends a lot of time with Louis asking him questions about running a record company, the pre-teen seems to already know he wants to work with music but not yet in what capacity. The middle Horan child, another boy named Henry who just turned eight spends most of the day kicking a football around with Niall. While lastly five year old Rosalie follows Louis around like a puppy dog giggling every time he so much as looks at her.

“That was a good day, but man I’m exhausted,” he informs Niall as they lounge around in the living room a football game that neither are really paying attention to on the TV.

“Same,” Niall agrees taking a long pull from his bottle of beer.

“You ever think about it though?” Louis asks a few minutes later.

“Think about what?”

“Having kids?”

“Yeah course, just gotta find the right person ya know?”

“Could always pull a Haz, get a surrogate and an egg and jizz in a cup,” Louis chuckles because really only Harry would decide to fuck what the world would say and go through the process of finding a surrogate and a donor egg and have a baby on his own.

“Think that’s really only a Harry thing,” Niall replies but Louis can see the smile pulling at the corners of his mouth at the thought. When Niall speaks again his question doesn’t surprise Louis, he’s been expecting it from one of the lads for a while now and is only surprised that it took this long for one of them to ask, “how come you and El never had kids?”

“Honestly? I don’t really know, I mean we never really sat down and decided to start trying but it wasn’t like we were actively not trying to have a baby either. We both wanted kids, but I mean at first we wanted to have a year or two to ourselves after we were married and the band split. Then it just it never happened and by the end we weren’t ever really having sex in the first place, so no baby that way,” he shrugs his shoulders when he finishes his explanation because that’s the pure truth to the matter.

He knows the stories that are floating around in the media about their split despite the numerous statements from both himself and Eleanor. Louis’ read the articles that proclaim that he ended the marriage because she didn’t want kids and he did or vice versa. At the end of the day though the only reason they ended was because they simply fell out of love with each other. They had grown so comfortable with one another over the course of their relationship that the passion they once held fizzled out and turned more platonic.

“You’ll make a good dad someday Tommo.”

“Thanks Nialler, you will too,” he yawns as he’s overcome with the urge to crawl into bed and sleep. They say goodnight a few minutes later and Louis falls quickly asleep the image of Niall from earlier that day with Rosalie on his shoulders and smiling up at his niece seared into his mind as he does.

“So I’m thinking we can go to the local pub tonight, they have karaoke on Wednesday’s, think it would be a bit of a laugh to go down and participate in the action,” Niall suggests almost two weeks into Louis’ stay. It’s not an idea that Louis usually would have, he hasn’t sung as much in the past few years since the band broke up but he agrees that it would be a bit of fun to do.

“Sounds good to me, although I demand that we don’t sing any of the Wanted, don’t know what they were thinking trying to make a comeback last year, was quite dreadful wasn’t it?” Louis replies with a smirk on his face as Niall just rolls his eyes. It’s more or less a joke now the old so called rivalry between One Direction and the Wanted but Louis’ always loved poking fun at people especially when they’ve been pricks in the past.

The pub they go to is the same one Louis’ been to with Niall before so it’s not a surprise when the patrons already there all smile and wave but otherwise don’t make a big deal over their presence. For the most part the two spend their time talking about football with the bartender and a few of the other locals before it’s announced that its karaoke time.

“Let me pick the song yeah?” Louis asks already halfway off the barstool he’s been sitting on for the last hour.

“Sure, make sure it’s a good one, got a reputation around here ya know,” Niall replies with a chuckle and Louis shakes his head. He can picture Niall easily around this place chatting with everyone who comes in and singing drunken karaoke most Wednesday nights. It’s nice for him to think that Niall’s still so _Niall_ about everything despite all the ups and downs that have occurred in the Irish man’s life.

It doesn’t take long for Louis to find a song for them to sing together, it’s actually the only song that he wants to even sing tonight just for the fact of how ridiculous and wonderful it is. He writes down both of their names along with his song choice before heading back to Niall as they sit through the next few songs and wait their turn.

“Okay everybody next up we have a duet so give a nice welcome to Niall and Louis,” the waitress running karaoke announces after they’ve sat through a very off pitch version of Don’t Stop Believing that Louis could’ve gone his whole life without hearing.

“Well hello everybody I’m Louis and that’s Niall and please go easy on us because we haven’t ever really done something like this before so we’re a bit nervous,” Louis jokes when they get up on the small stage.

“I also have no idea what we’re singing so hopefully we don’t mess it up too much,” Niall adds.

“I don’t know Niall I think you know this one,” Louis quips just before the familiar tune pours through the speakers and he starts in on the first verse, “ _You’re insecure don’t know what for, you’re turning heads when you walk through the door…”_ Niall is bent over laughing but he picks it up at Harry’s part before they move into the chorus that made them famous. Louis remembers a time when this song was the bane of his existence, but now he’s come to peace with the song that’s basically responsible for almost every single amazing experience he’s had in the past fifteen years.

The crowd eats it up; he even spots a few of the patrons recording them on their phones and just knows that the internet will be buzzing about this for the next few days. Louis’ aware though that the paps in Ireland are pretty chill and have always left them well enough alone, even at the height of One Direction hysteria, they mostly just take a couple pictures and move on their way. So he’s not really upset about it, plus the amount of alcohol he’s consumed helps.

“I can’t believe you made us sing that song!” Niall yells over the hoots and hollers of the crowd once they finish singing and are making their way off stage.

“Hey I didn’t make you do anything Neil, you could’ve walked away at any point,” he replies with a smile as Niall wraps an arm around his shoulders. Not for the first time since he’s arrived Niall’s touch sends tingles throughout Louis body in a way that makes him feel like a teenager all over again. The urge to kiss and touch Niall has become overwhelming the past few days and tonight with the alcohol flowing through his veins he knows it’s giving him that bit of courage that’s been missing.

“I don’t know about you but I’m ready to head back,” Niall whispers after they’ve both had one more pint and listened to some more awful karaoke including one person completely butchering _You & I_ that Louis records on his phone and sends to Liam. He’s very much hoping Liam watches it when he’s had a few because Louis needs a drunken Liam rant over how ‘no one can do Zayn’s note justice and really they are ruining the integrity of the song Louis’ because it’s been too long since the last one.

“Yeah, I’ve had enough human interaction for one evening,” he replies as Niall laughs and they make their way out of the pub and flag down a cab to take them home since neither of them are in a state to drive. It doesn’t take long for a cab to pull up to the curb and they climb into the backseat giggling as they bump into each other and settle down. Its a few minutes into the cab ride when Louis feels a weight settle on his inner thigh and finds Niall’s hand there. He looks up and is met with Niall’s face inches from his own a twinkle in the bright blue eyes he’s only seen a handful of times before and never once aimed in his direction.

Niall starts to draw random patterns on his thigh as he moves it steadily towards Louis crotch. Louis’ own hand comes up to cup Niall’s cheek as he runs his thumb over the other man’s bottom lip lightly before he leans forward to seal their lips together. It’s not the first time that he’s kissed Niall, they’ve all kissed one another at some point in the past but it’s been a long time since he has. He deepens the kiss and is reward by a low moan from Niall who sneaks his unoccupied hand up into Louis hair. In the back of his mind Louis knows that they probably shouldn’t be making out like a couple of teenagers in the back seat of a cab but he really could care less.

Soon enough though they’re stopped in front of the gate that closes off Niall’s driveway to the rest of the world and have to break apart to pay the cabbie and input the code so they can stumble up to the front door. It doesn’t take that long for them to accomplish these tasks even though it feels like a lifetime to Louis before he’s able to press Niall’s body into the door once it’s closed behind them. He zeroes in on the pale expanse of Niall’s neck licking and sucking marks into the skin he finds there while Niall starts pushing Louis’ jacket off his shoulders.

They stumble down the hall as their lips connect again losing clothes as they go laughing once they hit the staircase and Louis almost falls on his arse as he tries to kiss Niall and climb backwards at the same time. Louis breaks their lips apart long enough for him to tug Niall up the stairs and into Niall’s own room at the end of the hall. When they reach the bed the only clothing between them are their pants having lost the rest of the items on the way up and in the hallway. Louis pushes Niall down onto the soft bed before quickly crawling on top of him and sealing their lips back together.          

He lowers his body down onto Niall’s causing their clothed erections to rub together through the thin fabric that keeps them from being completely skin on skin. Breaking away from Niall’s mouth he circles his hips down causing the friction between them to increase and a moan to pour out of his mouth. He looks down at Niall with half lidded eyes and takes in the other man’s cheeks rosy with arousal and kiss swollen lips feeling a jolt of pleasure down his spine at the thought that he’s responsible for how disheveled the Irish man looks already.

“What do you want,” he whispers ducking down to kiss and suck along Niall’s chest nuzzling the still sparse hair he finds there before glancing back up.

“I’d like ya to fuck me, been a while since I’ve had a good fucking,” Niall gasps as Louis rolls one of his nipples between his fingers.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he replies as he reaches between them and cups Niall’s cock in his hand squeezing it and feeling it jump at the attention it’s getting. Louis returns back to kissing his way down Niall’s chest and when he reaches Niall’s pants he takes the waist band into his teeth and lets it go with a snap against Niall’s skin earning a moan as his reward.   

He then blows over Niall’s erection through the cloth and smirks when Niall swears above him and curls a hand in Louis’ hair. Taking pity on the other man he peels the fabric away letting the blonde’s erection spring free and slap against his belly. He kisses down Niall’s legs as he continues to remove the article of clothing and pays special attention to the scar that runs along Niall’s knee cap. Louis’ vaguely aware from a drunken conversation between the two of them from years before that the scar is an erogenous zone for Niall; true to form when he darts his tongue out to run along the smooth white skin Niall’s whole body jerks.

“Fuck Lou, not gonna last long if ya do that,” Niall pants above him.

“Well that’s no fun now is it?” he asks crawling up Niall’s body to hover over him with a smirk firmly in place on his lips.

“Will ya fuckin’ take yer pants off already and fuck me?”

“Since you asked so nicely,” Louis quips before he stands up on the mattress and yanks his pants down and kicks them off before losing his balance and almost crushing Niall as he falls back down.

“Smooth Tommo really,” the blonde man replies just before Louis takes both of their erections in his hand and wanks them together.

“If ya want me to fuck you I’m gonna need lube and condoms babe,” he moans as Niall’s hand bats his own away and rubs calloused fingers over the head of his cock whenever the foreskin is peeled back.

“Drawer next ta’ the bed.”

Louis reaches over and pulls the drawer in question open and grabs both the half empty bottle of lube and a condom from the box lying inside. Quickly he slicks three of his fingers up before he reluctantly pulls Niall’s hand off his cock and taps the others man’s leg in a silent command to move. Louis whimpers when Niall plants his feet on the bed and places a pillow under his arse putting himself on display as he spreads his legs wide. He kisses Niall as he lets his first finger circle the tight opening waiting for it to loosen some as Niall relaxes. It doesn’t take long after Louis slips the first one in for Niall to be begging for more and his second and third finger quickly follow.

“You ready?” he asks as he presses his fingers down on Niall’s prostate.

“Yeah fuck, need you inside Lou please,” the blonde groans just as Louis removes his fingers. It doesn’t take him long to realize that his hands are too slippery to get the condom on so he waves the small square in front of Niall’s face and waits for the other man to take hold of it. “Lazy wanker can’t even put his own bleedin’ condom on,” Niall mumbles under his breath causing Louis to laugh before it turns into a moan when Niall rolls the condom down his length and squeezes the base.

“Knee’s okay?” Louis asks after he’s had Niall wrap his legs around his waist and has the head of his cock right at Niall’s entrance.

“S’fine Louis just fuck me ya?”

Not one to beat around the bush Louis pushes past the first ring of muscle to be surrounded by tight heat. He goes slowly allowing Niall time to adjust but it doesn’t take long for him to be buried at the hilt as Niall urges him to move. Louis takes the first few thrusts slowly not wanting to hurt Niall at all but soon he quickens his pace at Niall’s moaned out request for more. It doesn’t take long for him to find the right angle to hit Niall’s prostate on each thrust in and he moans when he feels Niall’s nails dig into his back whenever he does.

“Fuck Ni,” he groans as Niall’s mouth latches onto his neck and he quickens his pace a little more as he feels his orgasm start to pool at the base of his spine. He reaches between them to get at Niall’s cock using the leftover lube and Niall’s pre-come to make it easier. It’s not long after he runs his fingers over the head of Niall’s cock that Niall tightens around him even further and starts to cum. Louis thrusts twice more before his own orgasm takes over and he empties himself into the condom.

He collapses down onto Niall’s body after he pulls out and disposes of the condom over the side of the bed. Louis sighs when Niall’s hand comes up to run through his sweaty hair pushing it off his forehead. Even though he knows Niall’s cum is quickly cooling between them he can’t be arsed to move and he has a feeling that Niall can’t be either. Halfheartedly he wipes his lube and cum covered hand on Niall’s sheets earning himself a weak protest from the other man that he waves off.

“Should’veknown you’d be a lazy arse after sex,” Niall yawns. Louis doesn’t respond except to cuddle in a little closer as sleep tugs at the corner of his eyes. “Goodnight Tommo.”

“Night Nialler,” he whispers back just before he drifts off into blissful sleep.

The next morning he wakes up to a wet mouth wrapped around his cock and glances down at the sight of Niall’s lips stretched around his length. He’s never had much stamina in the morning so it doesn’t take long before he’s tugging on Niall’s hair to warn him he’s about to cum. The other man surprises him when he doesn’t pull off but instead sucks Louis through his orgasm until he’s over sensitive and flinching away from the touch.

“Well good morning to you too,” he says once he’s regained his breath. Niall chuckles and leans down to kiss him, the taste of Louis’ own cum lingering on his lips.

“Wouldn’t mind if ya returned the favor,” Niall whispers then and Louis laughs because only Niall would be this endearing when demanding Louis give him a blowjob.

“Cheeky little minx,” he quips pinching Niall’s side before flipping them and very much returning the favor.

After that morning nothing really changes between them, other than the added kissing and other sexual encounters throughout the day. The thing is though that Louis isn’t all that great at not knowing what’s going on between him and another person. He tries to talk to Niall about it but every time he does Niall just silences him with a kiss and a small little smile silently saying he’s not ready to talk about it. This of course frustrates Louis to no end because he’d quite like to know if he should stop himself from falling in love with Niall, even though he’s certain it’s too late for that anyways.

Louis only has four days left before his return flight home when Niall gets back from the studio with a look of frustration on his face.

“Long day?” he asks not wanting to tip-toe around whatever it is that’s got Niall in such a mood.

“Yeah,” Niall grunts as he pulls out pots and pans from the cupboards.

“Want to talk about it?”

“Not really, just wanna be left alone for a bit,” Niall answers and Louis takes it for the dismissal it is and heads to another part of the house to let Niall cool down. He ends up reading by the pool, the late afternoon sun streaming through the windows and lulling him into a light doze.

A feather soft kiss to his cheek and the smell of chicken break him out of it a little while later. His eyes flutter open to find Niall sitting on the edge of the lounge a plate of roasted chicken, potatoes, and broccoli in his hands and an apology on his face.

“Hey you okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, sorry I was so short with you earlier, just wasn’t a great day.”

“Babe its okay, we’re all allowed to have bad days now and again,” he replies taking the proffered plate and utensils from Niall.

“No I know, one of the artists Simon sent to work with me isn’t cooperating at all and then on the way home I stopped to get some milk and ran into Jacob and just it wasn’t a pleasant encounter,” Niall informs him.

At the mention of Jacob Louis blood runs hot because he can’t stand the man who completely shattered Niall’s heart claiming that he just couldn’t handle being ‘Niall Horan of One Direction’s boyfriend’ in the press anymore. The two had been together for three years by that point; Niall had even come out because he was tired of hiding, especially now that he was in a relationship. The worst part in Louis’ humble opinion though was that the break-up occurred just a few months after One Direction decided it was time to part ways professionally, meaning Niall’s life was no longer on the move as often as it was before. Louis’ never said anything to Niall but he’s always secretly thought that Jacob’s true reason for breaking up with him was because he _wasn’t_ getting any attention for being Niall’s boyfriend now that the band was broken up.

“You know he never deserved you right?” he asks, although Louis really doesn’t think that there’s anyone that truly deserves Niall himself included.

“Course I know that, you and the rest of the lads made sure I knew it after everything. I just I didn’t expect to see him and there he was with his boyfriend and I don’t know it just caught me off guard,” Niall explains.

“Did he say anything to you?”

“Just asked how I was, but his boyfriend was a bit of a prick. Jacob got a phone call and the jerk made some comment about how he could see why Jacob dumped me,” Niall admits.

“Well that guy is a shit head, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Your amazing babe, truly one of the best people I’ve ever met,” he informs the blonde leaning forward to connect their lips in a soft kiss that causes his belly to erupt in flutters when Niall melts into it. When he pulls away Niall cuddles into his side as Louis finishes his plate of food the two of them sitting in silence.

“Are you excited to start shooting?” Niall asks him later that night during their post-coital cuddle.

“Yeah, bit nervous though.”

“I’m sure you have nothing to be nervous about, you’re gonna kill it Tommo,” Niall reassures him.

“I just don’t want it to fail,” he whispers because that’s his greatest fear going into this whole talk show business.

“Never know until ya try.”

“Such wise words Mr. Horan,” he teases.

“Well one of us has to be the smart one,” Niall replies. Louis gasps and retaliates by reaching over to tickle Niall’s sides laughing as Niall tries to squirm away. It’s not long until Niall’s own hands start to attack Louis’ body and the two are embroiled in a tickle fight as they roll around the bed. Between the two of them Louis shouldn’t be as surprised as he is when they end up rolling off the side of the bed and flopping on the floor the both of them groaning in pain but still laughing.

“Can’t believe we fell off the bed,” Louis moans clutching at his side where he’s sure a large bruise is going to be come morning.

“It’s your fault, had to start tickling me,” Niall states before he stands up and offers Louis his hand before they climb back into bed and soon drift off into sleep.

The next three days fly by and Louis finds himself waking up the morning he’s set to leave feeling like he has a rock in his stomach. It’s become obvious as his time with Niall comes to a close that whatever they have between them isn’t going any further then the past three weeks due to Niall’s insistence that they don’t talk about it. Louis dreads going home now because he feels like nothing is going to be the same and that he might’ve just ruined a friendship he’s always cherished.

The drive to the airport doesn’t take as long as Louis wants it too because he knows as soon as he gets on the plane nothing will be the same. Since it’s barely dawn there aren’t many people around as Louis gets out of the car followed by Niall who helps him with his bags.

“Call me when you get home,” Niall requests.

“Course Nialler, thanks for everything this was exactly what I needed,” he replies with a lump in his throat as he pulls Niall into a hug.

“Knew it would be, now go home and kill it alright?”

Louis just nods against Niall’s throat where he’s tucked his face before he pulls away and gives Niall a small smile. He grabs his bags then and heads inside hoping foolishly that Niall will call after him like this is some sort of romantic comedy, but it never happens and he boards the plane with a heavy heart. When he gets home he calls Niall like he promised he would but it’s short and awkward before they both hang up.

After that Louis doesn’t really have time to think about his broken heart since he goes right into pre-production meetings and rehearsals for the first few shows. When he’s not on set for the show he’s at the label getting caught up on what he missed. He knows that Liam can tell that something is off about him but he doesn’t want to talk about it, he’s quite alright with ignoring the issue at hand. It’s not until almost two weeks after he’s come home from his impromptu vacation that Liam finally corners him.

“What happened between you and Niall?”

“Well hello to you too Liam, it’s quite a nice day we’re having don’t you think?” Louis replies sarcastically.

“Shut up Louis, all I know is that since you’ve been back you’ve been moping around and whenever I get Niall on the phone he practically refuses to discuss anything other than work. And I know I’m not the brightest crayon in the box but I’m pretty sure that those two things aren’t a coincidence,” Liam explains.

“Nothing happened Liam, just drop it alright?” he asks knowing that it’s pointless because he truly has been expecting this conversation for quite some time now.

“You know that I won’t so you might as well just tell me,” Louis stays silent passive aggressively answering an e-mail that Harry sent him earlier that day as Liam sighs across from him, “Louis c’mon I hate seeing you like this and I’m sure Niall’s no better so just stop being a dick and tell me.”

“We shagged a fair amount and we didn’t talk about it because he wouldn’t let me. Then I went and fell in love with him, not my smartest move I must admit” Louis finally replies refusing to look at Liam because he knows if he does he’s just going to cry like he’s been trying not too for the past two weeks.

“And he doesn’t know you’re in love with him does he?”

“No, kept that bit to myself, he made it quite clear that whatever was going on between us was just going to happen while I was visiting him,” Louis answers.

“Such an idiot Tommo, the both of you really,” Liam informs him to which Louis glares.

“I made it quite obvious I wanted to talk about it and he didn’t so he’s the idiot not me,” Louis defends crossing his arms over his chest as Liam just shakes his head.

“Either way one of you needs to fix it because I’m not going to play the divorced parents game and I know Zayn and Harry won’t either,” Liam states as he gets up from his chair and exits the room leaving Louis to his thoughts. He knows that Liam is right; that he and Niall need to sort it all out but as far as Louis is concerned the ball is in Niall’s court to make the first move.

After a few more days of radio silence on both his end and Niall’s though Louis decides that he needs to swallow his pride and get the conversation over with. Once he’s made that decision the day feels like it drags on as he films some pre-recorded segments for the show before he can finally leave and go home. When he pulls into his driveway though there’s a figure sitting on his front steps that gets his heart racing and his palms sweating as he takes them in. Neglecting to put his car in the garage he gets out and cautiously approaches Niall who has moved from his sitting position and is standing with his hands in his pockets. They stare at one another for a few moments and just as Louis is about to say something Niall opens his mouth and starts to speak instead,

“So the thing is I’m a bit of a dick,” Niall starts.

“Go on,” he urges with a raise of his eyebrow.

“I kept ignoring your attempts at talking because I was afraid that you would tell me that what was happenin’ between us would have to stop because this was your way of getting over El. Which I realize in hindsight is a dick move because I know ya wouldn’t do somethin’ like that, but I’ve sort of been on the precipice of bein’ in love with ya for a long time and I wasn’t thinkin’ too clearly,” Niall rambles. Louis stays silent taking all the information in before he decides to speak up himself.

“So you’re in love with me?” he asks taking a step towards Niall as he does.

“Yeah I am, don’t know why though you’re a bit of a prick,” Niall answers with a smile on his face and a twinkle in the blue eyes that Louis’ always adored.

“Well I was going to tell you that I’m in love with you too but I don’t think I want to now,” he informs the Irish man with a smile belaying his words.

“You gonna kiss me anytime soon?” Niall whispers between them just before Louis does just that.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought! I hope you enjoyed the fic and I have plenty of more ideas for this version of Niall and Louis so if that's something that would interest you let me know via my [tumblr](http://xothesecondstartotherightxo.tumblr.com/) if you so please <3


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